• 09
  • May
    2011

Choosing a nursing home is a difficult decision. Most people don't have direct experience with nursing homes until they need one for their parents or themselves. Finding information to help with the decision process previously has been difficult, leaving consumers with little more to go on than brochures from the facilities.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) website was created to help consumers obtain important information to assist them in choosing a nursing home or long-term care facility. The site has recently seen some changes that further improve functionality and quality of the information.

Medicare's "Nursing Home Compare" website will now have real time and up to date information for consumers to be collected from verifiable sources. The information will include:

  • Staffing data. This includes hours per resident per day, which can be compared to the state average to determine whether the facility is understaffed, turnover and retention rates. Before this change, it was hard to judge the accuracy of the staffing data.
  • Consumer rights. The site will have more specific information on the rights of nursing home residents and who to contact for assistance.
  • Facility complaints. It will include specific data on the number, type, severity and outcome. They have also added a standardized complaint form that can be used to report violations.
  • Five-star ratings. This system will be "frozen" this year until the new data is available in 2012.

These changes should make the information on the CMS website is more timely, accurate and comprehensive.

The goal of the site is to provide a one-stop-shop for families seeking information on a particular facility or when researching facilities within a particular area.

Source: Nursing Home Compare at Medicare.gov; More Improvements At Medicare's 'Nursing Home Compare' Website